FM36 N is for Never Give Up
by Miz Em
Summary: Granger Clan Saga. Mary Louise finds out Delaney needs a bone marrow transplant. Brandon Granger tries to help.


**A/N:** Mary Louise finds out that her daughter Delaney needs a bone marrow transplant.

---

Mary Louise wrung her hands as she fought back the tears. She didn't want her six-year-old daughter, Delaney, to see her cry. But the doctor had just told them the bad news. Delaney's leukemia had worsened since he last saw her, and he was recommending a bone marrow transplant. But Mary Louise was not a match for Delaney, and Delaney's father was nowhere to be found.

"How could I not be a match for my daughter?" Mary Louise pressed her lips together, ashamed of the tremble as she voiced her question.

"There's only a 1 in 4 chance that a family member's bone marrow would match Delaney's," Dr. Beltran replied sympathetically. "We'll treat her with a chemotherapy regimen while we search the National Marrow Donor Program and the Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide database for a possible unrelated matched donor." The white-haired doctor reached over to pat Mary Louise on her shoulder as they got up to leave. "Don't give up. Never give up."

"It's going to be alright, Mommy," Delaney slipped her skinny arms around Mary Louise's waist and hugged her.

"Oh, sweetpea!" Mary Louise returned the hug. My daughter is stronger than I am, she thought sadly. She firmed her lips. No, I can do this with her and for her.

They walked out of Dr. Beltran's office, hand in hand. Mary Louise was a million miles away, trying to figure out if there was anything she could do. She stopped when Delaney tugged on her hand.

"Mommy, there's a big group of people blocking our way." Delaney pointed in the direction they usually went.

So there was, Mary Louise sighed to herself. Delaney had been guiding her towards the car. Who's the mother here? Mary Louise wondered ruefully. She turned to go down a different corridor, towards the parking lot.

"Mary Louise? Mary Louise!"

She turned in surprise at the familiar voice. Her eyes widened when she saw the twins with Brandon.

"Brandon! What are you doing here?" Her surprise had turned to horror. "Are the boys alright?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Brandon looked startled. "They're fine, look at them! I can barely keep them under control. Say hi to Mary Louise and Delaney, boys!"

Tears filled Mary Louise's eyes at the chorus of "Hi Mawy Lees. Hi Laney!" from the twins.

Delaney laughed in delight and held her hands out to the twins.

Brandon grinned and let her take each twin by the hand. They seemed happy enough with her. "What's wrong, Mary Louise?" He gently brushed the tears from her cheeks.

She shook her head, sighing a little, and told him what the doctor said.

"A bone marrow transplant? Oh, Delaney!" Brandon reached out and hugged the slight little girl.

Mary Louise smiled at the sight of little Delaney in Brandon's arms. The twins had surrounded and hugged her as well, turning it into a charming little group hug. "You never answered my question, Brandon. What are you doing here if the twins aren't here to see a doctor?"

"Oh, the senior partner of Cam's firm, Russell Bryson endowed the hospital with a substantial amount of money in memory of his son. He commissioned a sculpture from me, and they're dedicating the wing today. Cam and Chas are here too, but they're stuck with the ribbon cutting and all that. I'm the eccentric sculptor so they leave me alone when I wander off. Plus they didn't want to listen to Quade wailing away during the ceremony." He grinned charmingly at her.

She laughed, "What did you do, pinch him to make him wail?"

Brandon looked injured, "Now would I do a thing like that to my son?"

Mary Louise rolled her eyes, "I went to high school with you and your brothers, even if it was only for a year. I wouldn't put anything past you." She smiled when he threw back his head in laughter. "Sculptor? Didn't you use to sketch and paint? And what happened to your mother's jewelry store? Didn't you use to design for it as well?"

His eyes were lit with laughter and mischief, "You sure do remember a lot about me."

She felt the heat of her blush rise from her neck to her cheeks.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by that." He touched her cheek gently. "You know, I'd love to paint you sometime. Delaney too. She's got your lovely cheekbones." Brandon smiled at her raised eyebrows. "I still sketch and paint, but I love sculpting best. I do some jewelry for family but that's about it. We have artists at the store for that now. Mama still does custom stuff, but she limits the number she does a year. Amazingly, there's still a waiting list for her designs."

"She's wonderful. I missed her most when we left for Silicon Valley. Dad remarried and my stepmother was sweet, but she couldn't hold a candle to my mother or yours."

They walked in silence towards her car. Mary Louise smiled to see Delaney still holding Quinn's hand, while Quade had run back to his father. "Thanks for walking me out."

Brandon smiled, "Anytime. Hey, you should stop by the house this afternoon. Mama's having a potluck to celebrate the Russell Bryson Jr. Pediatric Cancer Wing. You remember where the house is, don't you?"

"Ah, yes," she said dryly. "I think I can find it. I've been there a time or two."

He laughed, "We'll see you later then."

She touched his arm before he turned to go, "Thanks, Brandon. I needed... Oh, something. Talking to you helped."

"Mary Louise," he seemed to hesitate, then his fingers traced her lips gently. Then he leaned over to kiss them. "I'll see you later." He grabbed his kids, making them squeal with laughter when he blew raspberries on them as they headed back to the ceremony.

"I like him, Mommy," Delaney's soft voice sounded pensive.

Mary Louise struggled to breath normally. She'd always had a crush on Cameron and had expected the tug of her heart when she saw him again. But this attraction to Brandon took her completely by surprise. "I like him too, sweetpea." Mary Louise murmured, and laughed at the cheeky grin on her daughter's face.

----

"I thought the dedication went very well," Russell said. He smiled at Brandon. "You disappeared in a hurry, Brandon."

Brandon grinned in response, "That's not my kind of thing. Standing around, listening to people talk."

Russell laughed, "I figured that out for myself. You did a wonderful job with the sculpture. Thank you for doing it despite the short notice."

"Anything for a friend of Cam's," Brandon said quietly, a faint smile on his face.

"Did you pinch Quade to make him wail like that?" Cam elbowed Brandon for good measure.

"I did not! You're the second person to accuse me of that today!" Brandon was indignant for being unjustly maligned.

Cam's eyebrows went up, "Second? Who beat me to it?"

"Mary Louise." Brandon's brow furrowed with worry. "They had bad news today. Delaney's going to need a bone marrow transplant but Mary Louise isn't a match so they'll have to get it from an unrelated donor. She seemed depressed, so I invited her to the potluck. Maybe it'll cheer her up a little. It's got to be better than dwelling on it all by herself."

"What's involved with a bone marrow donation?" Chas wanted to know. "Maybe we could start passing the word along and get more people to donate. Who knows? Someone might be a match for her."

Brandon looked at Chas thoughtfully, "That's a great idea. I wish I'd thought of that. I'll have to find out what's involved. Maybe Dad will pass the information along at the FBI as well."

"I'd better take care of finding out," Cam said dryly, grinning at the annoyed look on Brandon's face. "I've never known you to remember anything other than the piece of art you're working on. Sometimes you don't even remember to eat, and I know Mama calls you to make sure you feed the twins on their nanny's days off."

"That is not true! I remember to feed the twins!" Brandon's eyes blazed and he stepped towards Cameron, looking for all the world like he was going to start a brawl. "That is going too far!"

"I'm sure you do, Brandon," Russell interjected soothingly, but he looked amused. "I'm sure Cam is just teasing."

"I really was, Brand, I'm sorry." Cam eyed him curiously. "Why so sensitive all of a sudden?"

"Just tired of being stereotyped as a hedonistic artist." Brandon found it difficult to swallow his anger. He sighed when he saw the bland mask on Cam's face. He knew that was the mask Cam sometimes slipped on when he was trying not to laugh. "Alright, so I've made some mistakes! Tell me you haven't."

"He can't." Chas jumped in, to Brandon's surprise. Chas smiled at Brandon's surprise, "I like putting him in his place."

Cam grinned, "No, I can't, and I know it. I just didn't know it weighed so heavily on you." He sobered, and said quietly. "But if you hurt Mary Louise, I'll have to hurt you."

Brandon was silent, lost in his own thoughts about Mary Louise. He'd always known about Mary Louise's crush on Cam, but it surprised him how much that annoyed him now.

----

The potluck was already in full swing when Brandon saw Mary Louise finally drive up. He grinned when Delaney got out of the car with the stuffed toy that Colby had won for her at the Christmas Carnival. He heard Cam laugh, and looked up to see Colby heading in Delaney's direction.

"He's a soft touch," Cam was amused.

Erin elbowed Cam in the ribs. "I think it's sweet."

Delaney was already in Colby's arms when Brandon got to the car. She was just snuggling up to him. "Can I call you Grandpa Colby?"

Mary Louise was startled, "Oh no, Delaney! I'm so sorry, Colby, I didn't realize she was going to do that!"

"No need to apologize." Colby murmured. He looked pleased. And touched. "Of course you can, sweetheart. Want to play with Bethany?" He grinned when Delaney nodded eagerly. "I'll take care of her, Mary Louise. Go have a good time."

Brandon watched Delaney giggle when Colby whispered something to her. He smiled at Mary Louise's wide-eyed surprise. "She'll be fine, Mary Louise. He adores children. He sweeps the twins away the moment they get here. Same with Bethany. And we had the best fun with him, growing up. When he was home anyway. But somehow he and Mama always made sure we didn't want for anything."

She laughed a little nervously, "Its not that. I've had to worry about Delaney for so long, I'm almost lost without her close by. I haven't socialized much in a long time, Brandon."

"Hey, don't worry! There are a lot of people you already know. Come on, I'll introduce you to the people you don't know."

----

A few hours later, Mary Louise dropped with a sigh into a seat next to Hannah. "I don't think I'm going to be able to remember everyone."

Hannah laughed, "Don't worry about that. It'll eventually come together."

"Some things don't change, Hannah. This is still the place to hang out." Mary Louise leaned back with pleasure. She watched Delaney and Quinn shriek in laughter as they played with Rafe. "He's something, isn't he?"

"Who? Rafe?" Hannah smiled. "Yes, he is. I've grown very fond of him in the last few months."

"Yeah. Delaney looked terrified of him when he first went to get Quinn. He's kind of fierce looking, but he's just another big softy with the kids, isn't he?"

"And he's a good man to have in a crisis," Brandon murmured as he handed his mother a glass of wine.

Mary Louise looked at him in surprise.

Brandon shook his head, "I'll tell you over dinner, some other time." He avoided his mother's eyes when Hannah glanced at him with interest. He hoped she couldn't tell it was on purpose.

"Anyway," he continued, "Cam did some research on this bone marrow donation, and everyone here has agreed to get their tissue typed. See if it matches Delaney's. Dad's going to send out some information at the FBI, see if he can get more volunteers to do the same. Maybe we'll get lucky, and find Delaney a donor."

"Oh, Brandon! That's such a wonderful thing to do!" Mary Louise had tears in her eyes when she leaned over to kiss him on his cheek.

He angled his head so she kissed him on his lips instead of his cheek. Then took advantage of it when her lips parted in surprise. He murmured gently, "Never give up. There's always hope, and we'll be here for you and Delaney. I'll be here for you and Delaney." His lips met hers again.

And neither noticed when Hannah got up to leave them alone together.

---

**A/N 2:** _sigh_ this one just didn't want to wrap up quickly. I'll probably be picking it up from here at some point.


End file.
